Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5O-03297

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to reduce the amount of meat containing nitrites being served in hospitals.

Question reference: S5W-23059

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22756 by Ash Denham on 7 May 2019, in light of the confirmation that the Scottish Prison Service has the capacity to use mobile phone detection technology that can pinpoint phone signals to specific cells, whether it will confirm if it uses this and, if so, how often it is deployed; what proportion of the prison estate uses it and what analysis it has carried out of its effectiveness.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS has the capability to deploy mobile detection technology across all Scottish prisons in order to identify the illicit use of personal communication devices. To specify details on the frequency or locations of deployment would not be in the interests of security.

SPS Security & Technology Group meet on a quarterly basis to review all security equipment and to ensure continued effectiveness. This group also considers the suitability of any emerging technology available elsewhere.

Question reference: S5T-01646

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to prison officers balloting on industrial action.

Question reference: S5O-03239

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will bring forward measures to improve the input that victims and their families have into the temporary release process.

Question reference: S5W-22756

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 7 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Prison Service uses mobile detection technology that allows officers to pinpoint mobile phone signals to specific cells.

Question reference: S5O-03196

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to protect the jobs of people employed in the North Sea oil and gas sector as the industry changes.

Question reference: S5O-03176

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it next expects to publish a local government finance circular.

Question reference: S5W-22473

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by James Wolffe QC on 24 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22259 by the Lord Advocate on 2 April 2019, whether it will provide details of the improvements to the system of recording and tracking physical evidence; when these were put in place, and how it is monitoring their effectiveness.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has strict processes in place in relation to the handling of physical evidence and how they are stored.

Recent improvements to the system of recording evidence have been made. These are:

Storage areas for CCTV and other multimedia devices separate from other productions have been established;
A manager has been given specific responsibility for the production store in Glasgow. This will be replicated in every office;
Where multiple items are lodged in a case, a new process ensures each individual item is logged and this is periodically audited;
Revised booking in and out processes have been introduced to ensure that items can be tracked;
All staff have been reminded of their responsibilities and refresher training is being carried out.

Question reference: S5O-03140

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to tourism businesses in the north-east.

Question reference: S5W-22378

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the NHS to ensure there are sufficient amounts of medication and other supplies in stock to cover the next six months, and what contingency planning it has carried out to ensure that enough will be in place to cover all foreseeable circumstances.

The UK Government has overall responsibility for EU exit contingency planning and in particular for entry and any customs control at the UK Border. Since August 2018, the UK Government has been leading on plans to secure supplies of medicines, medical devices and clinical consumables in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit from the European Union. Despite the continuing uncertainty around the timing and nature of the UK’s exit from the EU, the Scottish Government has maintained full engagement with NHS Scotland, the UK Government and the other devolved administrations to ensure that patients in Scotland will continue to have access to the medicines and other medical supplies they need, as far as is possible.

Shortages are a routine management issue for the NHS. Manufacturing is often complex, regulation appropriately intense and there are many hundreds of companies involved in an international supply chain. It is normal for the Governments across the UK to be alert to and in many cases be engaged in the active management of significant numbers of supply issues. This is business as usual, and there are established processes in place to respond to and manage the position.

An NHS Scotland Medicines Shortages Response Group, chaired by the Scottish Government’s Chief Pharmaceutical officer and consisting of a range of health professionals that have a Scotland-specific focus, has been established to focus on aspects such as information sharing with NHS England, ensuring that intelligence gathered from Scottish sources is taken into consideration as part of the overall UK position and, to consider what additional or different steps may be required to be taken in Scotland. The expertise of this Group will provide critical information that the Scottish Government can feed in to the UK-wide Medicines Shortages Response Group in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit from the EU. Steps will also be taken to alert our Resilience Hubs, NHS 24 and other public sector partners.

On 28 March 2019 the Scottish Government’s Chief Medical Officer and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer wrote to health professionals across Scotland to offer advice on preparations being made to enable to the NHS to respond to and manage potential medicine shortages, as well as outlining the support that will be given to prescribers and pharmacists. This letter provides an update on advice previously issued by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer in January 2019.

In relation to ensuring supplies of medical devices and clinical consumables (MDCC), the Scottish Government has been working intensely with NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). Arrangements have been made for Scotland's participation in a UK-wide National Supply Distribution Response Centre that, in turn, provides access to dedicated shipment channels. NSS has also undertaken a phased stock build of goods held in its National Distribution Centre in Scotland. Systems are being developed to ensure that adult social care shortages are also fed in where necessary, through a triage centre with Scottish Care and other providers.